Currently, hormone therapy for breast cancer is one of the most effective methods of dealing with neoplasms that depend on the hormonal background of the patient. The course is often referred to as anti-estrogen, since the main task of the drug program is to minimize the effect of estrogen on atypical cellular structures.
Will it help?
Before prescribing hormone therapy for breast cancer, it is important to carefully examine the patient's condition. From medical statistics it is known that hormonal agents can achieve a pronounced effect in approximately 75% of situations. This is due to the nuances of pathological formations in the female breast: the main percentage of tumors depends on the hormonal background. The selection of therapy is carried out based on the nuances of the disease, the general condition of the body, the spread of the process. A special approach is needed during menopause. When choosing a treatment, the doctor evaluates how the tumor develops, how aggressive the pathological process is.
The choice of a regimen for the use of hormone therapy for breast cancer in a particular case is the responsibility of the doctor leading the case. The task of the patient is to carefully follow all the recommendations, observe the terms and schedule of taking the drugs. If a well-thought-out program is neglected, even the most modern tools and procedures are likely to be ineffective.
When will it help?
Hormonal therapy for breast cancer is prescribed if the disease proceeds according to a non-invasive scenario, it is necessary to minimize the risk of recurrence of the pathology. If the patient has undergone surgery, treatment with radiation or chemicals, as well as combined, the hormonal course can reduce the risk of relapse, the formation of a new focus of cell degeneration.
With a high probability of developing cancer, a hormonal course can be prescribed as a method of preventing pathology. With an invasive cancerous process, hormonal agents are used to reduce the size of the diseased area. Hormonal drugs used for breast cancer are widely used in the treatment of complicated cases accompanied by metastasis.
Is it necessary?
Doctors often call hormonal therapy for thyroid cancer or breast cancer a kind of insurance option. This course of treatment is used in combination with the main program of surgery, radiation,medical treatment. All of them, even when combined, cannot guarantee a 100% chance of a successful outcome with no recurrence in the future. Hormonal treatment helps to correct the work of the body as a whole, inhibits the aggressive influence of estrogen. Such drugs can show a positive effect only if the tumor process depends on the hormonal background.
To understand how hormone therapy is necessary in a particular case for breast cancer after surgery or before intervention, the patient's condition is carefully examined using modern equipment. To maintain the patient during the hormonal course, you will have to use antibiotics and drugs from the category of chemotherapy.
Varieties and types
There are three main course categories: prophylactic, curative and neoadjuvant. Hormone therapy for breast cancer after surgery is a preventive approach. They practice this after a course of radiation, cancer treatment with medications. The main task is to prevent the recurrence of the disease. The duration of the course varies from five years to a decade. Usually, patients are prescribed medications that inhibit aromatase activity, as well as Tamoxifen.
Neoadjuvant treatment aims to improve treatment prognosis. It is practiced before surgical procedures, radiation. The duration of the program is from a quarter to a half of a year. If the results are completely satisfactory, the course can be extended for a longer period -for example, for 2 years. Hormone therapy for neoadjuvant breast cancer is indicated to reduce the size of formation, correction of metastases. The program allows you to simplify the upcoming operation, reduce its volume, increase the chances of survival and the absence of recurrence in the future. Hormonal treatment helps to assess the sensitivity of abnormal cells to cytostatic therapy, as well as to check how effective the latest drugs are. As a result of the neoadjuvant course, in approximately 80% of cases, the neoplasm becomes smaller, in 15% there is a morphological remission.
Treatment: long or short?
If the process is generalized, the patient's condition does not allow for surgical intervention, a treatment course with hormonal drugs is indicated. It is also prescribed if metastases are found in the respiratory system, liver, the patient is a young woman. Similar treatment is indicated in the remission step.
Determining which drug is best for hormone therapy for breast cancer, a specialist evaluates a number of factors. Take into account the hormonal type of neoplasm, the status of the patient (reproductive stage, menopause). When choosing a course of treatment, it is necessary to collect information about previously practiced measures and their results, to assess the presence of somatic diseases. To select the optimal program, the stage of the disease and the likelihood of relapse are taken into account.
Status and age
Hormone therapy for premenopausal, menopausal, young breast cancerAge is a completely different thing. The choice of drugs is always based on the safety of the menstrual cycle. If the cycle is constant, the state is premenopausal, it is indicated to take the five-year Tamoxifen program, if the disease is at an early stage. Additionally, removal of the ovaries is indicated. After their removal, or to inhibit the functionality of this organ, medications that inhibit aromatase should be used.
At the stage of menopause, during menopause and after it, you must first refer the patient to surgery, prescribe a course of radiation, chemical treatment. After that, the patient is prescribed drugs that inhibit aromatase. If, even before the onset of menopause, a woman used Tamoxifen for a five-year course, the remedy is changed to Femara. If the use of "Tamoxifen" was accompanied by the formation of a new pathological tumor process or a recurrence of the case, the drug is replaced with aromatase inhibitors.
Possible relapse due to the use of aromatase inhibitors. In this case, the medicines are changed to Tamoxifen. Possible alternatives are Faslodex or other similar drugs. Often prescribed "Anastrozole". Hormone therapy for breast cancer is adjusted based on the body's response, progress, regression.
Types of disease, course
Allocate benign, malignant tumor processes. In the first type of formation, the probability of malignancy of the tumor remains. The therapeutic course prescribed for this condition is only Tamoxifen. ATin clinical practice, this agent is used if ductal carcinoma is detected.
In a HER2-positive case, as can be seen from medical reviews, hormone therapy for breast cancer gives the best effect if you choose aromatase-suppressing medications. They are resorted to if Tamoxifen does not give the desired result.
Tamoxifen
Means belongs to the class of antiestrogen. Once in the patient's body, the active component prevents the reaction of combining estrogen, atypical cellular structures; pathological formations cannot increase. The remedy gives the best effects if it is used in the active reproductive period against the background of stable menstruation, at the primary stage of the pathology. According to reviews, hormone therapy for breast cancer using Tamoxifen is well tolerated by patients, although side effects cannot be avoided.
On sale you can find a tablet form, presented in pharmacies under the name "Tamoxifen-Nolvadex". It has been noticed that some patients during the period of the therapeutic program complained of active vaginal discharge or excessive dryness of the mucous membranes of this area. It is possible to activate the sweat glands. Sometimes patients gained weight, others were worried about hyperemia of the skin.
Aromatase inhibitors
These funds inhibit the generation of estrogen in the female body. They are recommended for use after menopause, during menopause and after it. From medical practice, there are many cases of complete cure of the pathology in question, using Aromasin,"Femaru". Very good responses can be found on the drug "Arimidex". Each of the mentioned medicines is prescribed in a specific situation. For example, if tumor cells have just been removed, and the pathology has been treated at an early stage, Arimidex will be the most effective.
"Aromasin" is indicated at the beginning of the development of a malignant disease. It is prescribed to patients who have used Tamoxifen for years. "Femara" is also suitable if the disease is established early, the patient has already undergone surgery. Femara is prescribed if the patient has been using Tamoxifen for five or more years.
Side effects of hormone therapy for breast cancer with aromatase-inhibiting compounds are rare. In a relatively small percentage of cases, patients feel sick, the joints respond with discomfort and soreness. Dryness of the vaginal mucosa is possible. Prolonged use of medications can provoke fragility of the skeletal system. To prevent an undesirable effect, a complex therapeutic course is supplemented with calcium, calciferol.
Goserelin
This is a synthetic drug similar to the LHRH produced in the female body. The drug is common to control the activity of the pituitary gland. Under its influence, the number of generated hormonal compounds decreases. It has been established that as the therapeutic course is completed, the activity of the pituitary gland not only returns to normal, but becomes higher. The optimal course of treatment istaking "Goserelin" for several months, after which the patient is sent for oophorectomy. Removal of the ovaries is possible through radiation or as part of surgery.
Side effects of hormone therapy for breast cancer when using "Goserelin" include the weakening of intimate activity, skin flushing. Some complain of increased activity of the sweat glands, others are faced with sharp drops in insistence. May have a headache.
The drug is administered strictly injectively. The procedure is repeated monthly, putting an injection into the wall of the abdominal cavity, in the lower part.
Treatment and its consequences
Hormone therapy has many positive properties and qualities, but not without drawbacks. On average, every second patient is faced with some undesirable consequence of the course. Some become more weight, others note dryness of the vaginal mucosa, others suffer from edema, sweating. Against the background of a therapeutic course, menopause may come ahead of time. With a high degree of probability, hormonal treatment can cause an oppressed psycho-emotional status. Patients are prone to mood swings.
"Tamoxifen", currently so actively used in the treatment of cancer, can provoke the formation of blood clots. Against the background of its use, the risk of future fertility increases, as well as the risk of cancerous processes in the uterus. Aromatase inhibitors, thereby reducing estrogen levels inbody, can cause osteoporosis and the accumulation of cholesterol in the circulatory system. Against the background of their intake, the risk of gastrointestinal pathologies increases.
If the course of treatment is accompanied by unwanted symptoms, you are concerned about side effects, you should contact your doctor. As a rule, funds are canceled, the course is adjusted, choosing safer and more effective formulations.
Daily and Treatment: Nutrition Rules
If a hormone-dependent tumor is detected, you will have to carefully consider your lifestyle, including menu planning. A correctly chosen diet is the key to good he alth, reducing the risk of pathology progress. With cancer, it is necessary to have a balanced diet that provides the body with the necessary amount of vitamins, irreplaceable microscopic elements. You should eat often, in small portions.
The menu should have a lot of bright, colorful, vitamin-rich foods - pumpkin, tomatoes, cranberries. Patients benefit from cereals - bran and wheat. The menu should contain brown, brown rice. Calorie content is determined by assessing the weight of the patient. With excess weight through the diet, this indicator should be adjusted. Animal fats, if possible, exclude or reduce their concentration, replacing vegetable fats. The most useful foods containing calciferol, calcium, but foods rich in phytoestrogens are prohibited.
